Soap dispenser



Oct. 3., 1950 J. O. PUMPHREY SOAP DISPENSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec.4, 1945 INVENTOR.

Pumping BYZ/alrer Jame Oct. 3, 1950 J. o. PUMPHREY SOAP DISPENSER 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 4, 1945 ,ozw 140505;;

ATTORNEY N'VENTOR James 0. Pan BYMV P Patented Oct. 3, 1950 UNITED,STATES PATENT OFFICE,

James O. Pumphrey, Staten island, Y.

Application December 4, 1945, Serial No. 632,753

The invention relates to soap dispensers of the type ordinarily securedto the wall above a wash basin and which, when manually operated b onehand, out and deliver soap, in powdered form, in the other hand, held atthe outlet opening thereof.

Among the more important features of the invention, may be mentionedfirst, the use of an oscillating, semi-cylindrical shell form of cutter,trunnioned at or near the delivery end of the dispenser and having thecutting teeth suitably formed on the inner or concaved side thereof. Thecutter is designed to oscillate through the lower arc of circularpath-and is accessible interiorly from abovethrough the upwardly openingtrough-like shell.. The trunnioned form of mounting for the cutter,avoids the use of a through cross shaft and leaves the interiorunobstructed and available for the reception of the lower end portion ofthe soap cake, which is entered therein and spring-pressed against thecutting teeth. In thusmaking the space within the cutter available foruse as an extension of the soap chamber, the soap-holding capacity ofthe dispenser is materially increased, without-enlarging the customaryoverall dimensions or, if such increase is not considered desirable,then the height of the dispenser may be reduced without reducing theusual soap-holding capacity. The advantage of cutting the soappractically at the point of delivery, will be apparent, as it obviouslyavoids deposit and obstructing accumula- 15 Claims. (Cl. 146-63) effect,one endconnected to the cutter and the other end connected to thpressure plate or follower, by a flexible tape or cord, running oversuitable guides. The movement given the cutter in one direction by hand,increases the tension of the spring sufficiently to cause it to reactand return the cutter to its original position. This increased tensionof the spring is also transmitted to the pressure plate or follower toinsure continuous advance of the soap to the cutter.

Other features of the invention, not specially mentioned above, will bedisclosed in the detailed description that follows.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in. theaccompanying drawings but I do not wish to be understood as intending tolimit myself to the same, as either or both the formand details may bechanged, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asoutlined in the appended claims.

In the drawings: I Fig. 1 is a central, vertical longitudinal sec tionon the line s s of Fig. 5, the front door being shown in dotted linesraised, to open the dispenser for the entr of a soap cake.

Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view of the torsion spring that retractsthe cutter and advances the soap to the same.

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective View showing an assembly of the soapcake, the spring-actuated follower by which the soap is advanced to thecutter and the guides in which the follower is freely movable.

Fig. 4 is a View in front elevation of the dis-- penser, with the lowerfront section of the casing removed and'the door shown raised or inopened soap to the cutter, that as the door is moved up-.

ward, it takes the pressure plate or follower with it and thus clearsthe soap chamber. As this can be conveniently done with one hand, theother hand is left free to enter a new cake of soap in the chamber andupon releasing the door,

the spring acts to move it downward, along with the pressure plate,restoring both to normal position and the dispenser is ready forcontinued ope-ration. As the door is constructed and arranged, it may beremoved for purposes of repair soap is fed to the oscillating cutter andthe cutter is retracted in each oscillation. Repeated experiment hasdemonstrated that the above purposes are best served by the use of asuitably enclosed torsion spring, preferabl mounted on the-cutter, atcrnear therear thereof and having,- in

ing shown diagrammatically. by a dotted outline indication.

Fig. 5'is a horizontal cross section on the line s -s of Figs. 1 and 4,and

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional View of a modified form of cutter-operatinglever.

Referring now to the drawings, l represents the dispenser'casing whichis provided with a front opening 2, closed by a door 3, for entrance ofsoap, indicated in cake form at 4, to the soap chamber 5. The lowercurved front section 6 of the casing is secured in position by screws(see Fig. 1) andmay be removed to give access to the cutter chamber 1,as shown in Fig. 4.

The door 3 is movable upward in guide grooves B, 8, formed in theopposite side walls of-the cas ing and when given such movement, asshown in Fig. 4, clears the lower portion of the opening 2 leading tothe soap chamber 5. The lower end of the door. extends downward into thecutter chamber in parallel relation and comparatively close contact withthe soap calge, to apoint-near the lower end thereof and serves, incooperation with a similar plate-like extension 9, engaging 3 theopposite side of the cake, to hold the latter firmly and against lateralmovement, for action by the cutter. The plate 9 may be an integral partof the casing or a separately formed part, suitably secured therein.

As oscillating cutter is employed in the form of an approximatelysemi-cylindrical shell II), with the cutting teeth H, formed on theinner concave side thereof. The shell is reinforced by end closures I2,12, which terminate in trunnions 13, I3, journaled in bearings l4, It,provided between the meeting edges of the body of the main casing andthe removable lower front section 6 thereof. The cutter may be made ofsheet metal or of a plurality of spaced apart cross bars, with teethstruck up, stamped out or otherwise formed.

The cutter is designed to be oscillated in the lower arc of a circularpath by a suitable form of projecting lever ill, in cooperation with aretractile spring, and the cross sectional form of the cutter may bemore or less of a semicircle, depending upon the extent of movementgiven it.

Thus mounted, the cutter presents its open side upward, making theinterior thereof accessible and available to receive the lower endportion of the cake of soap, which projects therein from the soapchamber and rests, under spring pressure, in contact relation on thecutting teeth.

A spring I5, employed to retract the cutter in each oscillation and toexert the required pressure on the soap to feed it to the cutter (seeFigs. 1 and 2), is preferably of the torsion type, wound on and havingone end made fast to a shaft it, as indicated at W, which isnon-rotatably held in bracket-like extensions :1, ll of the end platesof the cutter and enclosed in a rotatable tubular casing l8 to which theopposite end of the spring is secured, as indicated at W.

The above described sprin assembly is substantially similar to the wellxnown spring roller construction, commonly used for window shades and ispreferably mounted on the cutter, at the rear thereof, as shown in Fig.1.

A flat tape, chain or cord 119, of metal, fabric or other suitablematerial, wound on the tubular casing or roller 18 and having one endsecured thereto, has its opposite end looped around a pulley or likeprojection 20 of the casing, then carried upward and attached to apressure plate or follower 2|, resting on the top of the soap cake.Looping the tape, chain or cord around the pulley or projection 28 isnot essential, as the tape may be carried directly upward, if desired.The loop form is, however, preferred, as its use enables the cutter tobe oscillated by an up and down movement of the operating lever ratherthan a back and forth movement. The action of the spring, incontinuously exerting a downward pull on the tape, chain or cord, istransmitted, through the pressure plate or follower, to the soap cake,to feed the same to the cutter.

To balance and equalize the spring action on the pressure plate orfollower, the tape, chain or cordlB, is preferably attached to the sameat or near the central point of its area, to avoid any tendency of theplate to tip up at one side, under the pull of the spring.

The connection of the tape or cord centrally of the plate, is providedfor by forming a rearwardly facing groove 22 of V or other shaped crosssection, in the soap cakes used in the dispenser, the groove being ofsuch depth as to extend to substantially the mid point of the cake andthereby clear the way for the passage of the tape or cord.

The pressure plate 2 I, is mounted in guides on the rear side of thedoor 3, spaced apart grooves 23, 23, being formed lengthwise thereof toreceive a bent-up portion 24 of the plate, which rides freely therein.The guide grooves 23, 23 terminate short of the lower end of the door,as indicated at 23 in Fig. 3 and when the door is raised, to open thechamber for the entrance of a new cake of soap or any other purpose, theshoulders formed at the lower end of the grooves engage the bent-upportion of the plate and continued upward movement of the door carriesthe plate up with it, clearing the soap chamber above the partiallyused-up soap cake therein. Assumin a new cake is entered and the door ismoved downward to close the chamber, the pressure plate will follow it,under the action of its spring until the plate meets and comes to reston top of the new cake and the dispenser is then ready for continuedoperation.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. 6, the dispenser-operating lever25 is designed to be self -maintaining, horizontally extended,throughout its downward and upward movements, for greater convenience ofusers in operating the dispenser. As shown, the lever is L-shaped andpivoted at 26, to the right hand end plate of the cutter, at the pointof union of the long and short arms of the lever. The long arm projectsthrough and is freely movable in a slot 27, in the lower removablesection 6 of the casing, its projecting end being suitably shaped forfinger operation. A link 28, pivotally connected at one end to the shortarm of the lever, is provided at the opposite end with an integral studshaft 29, journaled in a bearing formed between the meeting flanges ofthe front and back sections of the casing. The extreme positions of thelever are shown, the normal position being represented in full lines andthe position at the limit of its downward movement, in dotted lines.

As the operation and many important advantages of the invention will beapparent from the foregoing, it is not deemed necessary to furtherdescribe the same.

I claim:

1. In a dispenser for soap and other materials, a walled-in chamber forreceiving a cake of soap, an upwardly sliding door forming substantiallythe front wall of the chamber through the doorclosed opening of whichthe soap is entered therein, an oscillating cutter of approximatelysemicylindrical shell form opening upward and forming a lower extensionof the soap chamber, the said cutter having cutting teeth formed on itsinner concaved surface adapted to engage the lower end of the soap cakewhich extends from the chamber into the cutter, wall extensionsprojecting into the cutter as front and rear supports for the soap caketherein, the front wall extension being formed by the lower end of thesliding door,

. pressure thereon to feed the cake to'the cutter.

into which cakes of the material to be dispensed are inserted throughthe receiving opening, an upwardly sliding door closing the receivingopening, a cutter of approximately semi-cylindrical shell form, suitablymounted to be oscillated within the casing, its arcuate portion havingcutting teeth projecting inwardly from its concave surface and escapeopenings therein for out material, the cutter being positioned in thecasing with its concavity opening upwardly to form a continuation of thechamber and 1engthen the same sufficiently to accommodate the lower endportion of a cake which projects into the concavity in engaging relationto the teeth of the cutter, a pressure plate engaging the upper end of acake and an element connected and arranged to retract the cutter andexert pressure on the plate to feed a cake of the material to thecutter.

4. A dispenser, as defined in claim 3, further characterized in that theinwardly projecting cutting teeth are disposed and arranged on thearouate portion of the cuter to be at an angle diagonal to the plane ofoscillation of the cutter.

5. A dispenser, as defined in claim 3, further characterized in that theinwardly projecting cutting teeth are formed by bending up serratededges of cuts made in the arcuate portion of the cutter.

6. A dispenser, as defined in claim 3, further characterized in that thesemi-cylindrical cutter is provided with end closures having trunnionson which the cutter is oscillatably mounted within the dispenser casing.

7. A dispenser, as defined in claim 3,.further characterized in that thecutter is so positioned within the casing that its cutting teeth areadjacent the delivery opening of the dispenser, so that as the cutter isoscillated the particles of material ground oiT the cake fal1 throughthe openings in the arcuate portion and thence through the deliveryopening of the casing.

8. A dispenser, as defined in claim 3, further characterized in that themeans for retracting the cutter and for exerting pressure on thepressure plate consists of a cylinder rotatably mounted on andoscillated with the cutter, a torsion spring adapted and arranged tospring-load the cylinder, and flexible means connecting the cylinderwith the pressure plate.

. 9. A dispenser, as defined in claim 3, further I characterized byhaving a torsion spring mounted on the cutter, the spring being coiledon a rod carried by the cutter and enclosed in a rotatable cylinder, oneend of the spring being attached to the rod and the other end to therotatable cylinder, and a flexible connection wound on the cylinder withthe free end thereof extending upward to a pressure plate engaging acake of the material, the spring being tensioned by the said connectionto exert continuing pressure on the plate to feed the material to thecutter and a continuing pull on the cutter to retract th same whenoscillated.

11. A dispenser, as defined in claim 3, further characterized by havinga torsion spring disposed about a non-rotatable shaft, detachablyaffixed to the cutter and enclosed within a rotatable .casing, one endof the spring being fastened to the shaft and the other end to therotatable casing, to enabl the spring to betensioned by rotation of thecasing and transmit its force to the casing, and means connecting thecasing to the pressure plate, through which connection the springsimultaneously exerts a continuing pressure on the material to feed thesame to the cutter while yieldingly holding the cutter in retractedposition and against being manually advanced.

12. A dispenser, as defined in claim 3, further characterized in thatthe upwardly sliding door is mounted in parallel grooves formed in thewalls of the chamber adjacent the receiving opening.

13. A dispenser, as defined in claim 3, further characterized in thatthe pressure plate is slidable in guides formed in the door thatterminate short of the bottom of the door to provide projections thatengage and raise the plate clear of the cake of material on the upwardmovement of the door.

14. A dispenser, as defined in claim 3, further characterized in thatthe pressure plate is slidably mounted within the chamber by a bent-upportion of the plate inserted in parallel grooves formed on the innerside of the upwardly sliding door, the grooves being terminated bysuitable stops secured to the lower end of the door, so that as the dooris slid upwardly to enable a fresh cak of the material to be inserted inthe chamber through the receiving opening, the stops engage the bent-upportion of the plate within the grooves to raise the plate 01f the upperend of the partially used cake in the chamber and to carry the plateupwardly along with the upwardly sliding door.

15. A dispenser, as defined in claim 3, further characterized in thatthe means for actuating the cutter consist of a bell-crank leverpivotally attached to the cutter, on arm of the lever being maintainedhorizontally extended by a link pivoted at one end to thedispensercasing and at the opposite end to the other arm of the lever.

JAMES O. PUMPHREY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 32,672 Weiser May 15, 1900173,941 Graeve et a1. Feb. 22, 1876 337,826 Fahrney Mar. 16, 1886630,413 Ryan Aug. 8, 1899 806,646 Curry Dec. 5, 1905 867,386 Lee ..1Oct. 1, 1907 897,780 Lewis Feb. 18, 1908 983,316 Shaver 1 Feb. 7, 19111,045,828 Evans Dec. 3, 1912 1,458,982 Kendall June 19, 1923 1,592,401Walker July 13, 1926 2,235,217 Koch Mar. 18, 1941 2,441,034 Pumphrey May4, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 778,982 France Jan. 5, 1935800,865 France May 11, 1936 658,309 Germany Mar. 28, 1938

